Apparatus for manufacturing tires



March 10, 1931. R. F. TERNES 1,796,159

APPARATUS FOR MANUFACTURING TIRES Filed Feb. 26, 1929 a Q a; 2 A? /2 l:

/4 M I; I /7 O 0 g J a IN V EN TOR. Wqymafld If Tier/pea Patented Mar.10, 1931 Darren-STATES PATENT @FFEQE RAYMOND r. TERNQES, OF DETROIT,MICHIGAN, ASSIGNOB To MORGAN & WRIGHT, or

. I DETROIT, MICHIGAN, A CORPORATION or MICE-EGAN APPARATUS FORMANUFACTURING TIRES Application filed February 26, 1929. Serial NO.342,835.

This invention relates to devices for shaping pulley bands into tirecasings.

In the art'o f building automobile tire casings it is Customary to buildthe constituent parts of the tire casing around a fiat drum so as toform an endless band known in the art as a pulley band. The pulley bandis then shaped into the formof a tire casing by a suitable device suchas avacuum box which usually consists ofan annularly shaped box providedwith apertures to accommodate a pulley band and being hollow within sothat V by the application of reduced pressure within the vacuum box thepulley band may be forced by the action of atmospheric pressure into theshape of a tire casing. The apertures which permit the insertion of thepulley band within the vacuum box are necessarily of a larger diameterthan the outside diameter of the pulley band so as to permit the pulleyband to be readily inserted. It is necessary to provide a suitable meansto effect an airtight or substantially air-tight seal between the vacuumbox and the pulley band so that upon withdrawing fluid from the interiorof the vacuum box a reduced pressure will be formed which results in theshaping of the pulley band into the tire casing.

It is the object of this invention to provide a new and improved devicefor effecting the preliminay seal between the pulley band and the vacuumbox. It is also the object of this invention to provide a device forefiecting a preliminary seal between the pulley band and vacuum boxwhich consists of an nflat- I able member disposed along the margins ofthe apertures which accommodate the pulley band. Other objects andadvantages of the present invention will appear from the followingdetailed description taken in connection with the drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view partly broken away and in section of apreferred form of 7 my invention.

Fig. 12 is a detailed view in section showing the constructlon of myimprovement.

The vacuum box 1 consists of a base plate I 2 and integral side wall 3together with the top plate 4 hingedly mounted as at 5 so as to open andclose the casing. A suitable gasket 6 is provided to make an air-tightseal bebottom plate 2 and-top plate 4- are provided with apertures 7 ofsuch a size as to readily permit the insertion of a pulley handtherethrough. A suitable pedestal 8 is provided for supporting thevacuum box and has a platform 9 upon which a pulley band may rest whenfirst inserted within the vacuum box, the vacuum box and platform 9being spaced apart a sufici'ent distance so as to properly center thepulley band with respect to the vacuum box.

In Order to effect a preliminary seal between a pulley band such asshown in dotted lines at 10 and the margins defining the apertures 7 ofthe vacuum box, an inflatable member 11 is arranged along the margindefining each of the apertures. This inflatable member is clamped orheld in position on such margins by the clamping rings 12 which are helddown by screws not shown or any other tight chamber which upon admissionof fluid pressure expands so as to bring the inflatable member 11 intocontact with the pulley band thereby forming a substantially air-tightseal between the vacuum box and the pulley band. Suitable pipeconnections 14 having a reducing valve 15 and with a controlling handvalve (not shown) are provided to establish a connection between asuitable source of fluid pressure and the expansible chamber defined bythe expansible member 11 and the circumferentially extending slots 13.

Suitable pipe connections 16 connect the interior of the vacuum box witha suitable means for evacuatin the same and a suitableweighted leversystem 17 is provided for opening and closing the top plate 4 of thevacuum box to permit the removal of the shaped tire casing at the end ofthe operation of the machine.

In the operation of the hereinabove described apparatus, the hand valvecontrolsuch a slot is absent. 7 :VVhile one form; ofthe invention hasbeen ling the pipe connections 1% and15 is open so as to permit thepressure within the expansible chamber defined by themember'll and slot13 to fall to atmospheric pressure at which time the expansible member11 assumes the deflated position shown in Fig. 2. A

pulley band is positioned within the closed vacuum box as shownin'dotted'lines at 10.

The hand valve controlling the pipe system 14. and 15 is then-operatedso as to introduce fluid pressure within the expansible'chambers definedby members llhand slots 13 which causes the expansible member 11 toassume the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2

and thereby to come into contact with the exterior of the pulley band toforma substan- I tially air-tight seal therewith. The reducing valve .15limits the maximum pressure actingfuponthe expansible member 11, and maybe adjusted to provide the proper pressure.

The next operation is to exhaust the interior of the vacuum box throughthe pipe connection 16 so that the atmospheric pressurevmay operate toforce the pulley band within'the an inflatable means arrangedfl alongthe margins defining the apertures, and means for controlling the degreeof inflation of the inflatable means whereby the inflatable means may beexpanded or'contracted so as to permit the insertion of a pulley bandtherein and to form a seal therewith. o I a 3. A vacuum box providedwith apertures adapted to receive a pulley band, an expansibleband ofmaterial fixed overeach of the margins defining said apertures so as toform a substantially airtight chamber, and means for supplying fluidpressure within the bands whereby the expansible bands may be broughtinto contact with a pulley band in the vacuum boxfand effect a sealtherewith V 4. A vacuum boxprovided with aperture's adapted toreceive apulley band, there-being a circumferentially extending groove in each ofthermargins bounding the apertures, an 'expansible band of materialfixed over each of said slots'so as to form asubstantially airtightexpansible chamber, and means ior supplying fluid pressure to saidchamber vacuum box and thereby shape it into a tire-I whereby it may beexpanded so as to contact casing. Theoperation is completed, by theinsertion of a curing bagwithin the formed tire casing and theapplication of a bull ring to'the' beads'of atirecasin'g whereupon thecasing enclosed curing bag may be removed from the vacuum box by openingthe top platejthereof. v I

The expansible member-11 hereinabove dewith a pulley-band-withinthevacuum box and form a sea-l'therewith- 1 Signed at Detroit, county ofWVayne, State of lilichigamthis 21st day vof February, 1929. RAYMOND F.TERNES.

scribed is preferably of a suitable rubber l compound so that upon thereduction of pressureacting thereon it will assume the positionshown infulllines in Fig. 2, although such an inflatable'member 11 may be madeof a non-stretchable material such as a rubberized fabric 'or othersubstantially air-impermeable material.. The slot 18 aids in thedeflation of the memberll although such a slotqis not essential to theoperation of the device 7 andarmodifl'ed' form may be made in whichspecifically described, various modifications in'th'e kind of materialsand arrangementof I the members may be made as will be apparent tooneskilled in the art, and all such modilfied forms of this invention arecontemplated and are intended to be included within the scopeofthefollowing claims. I

fI-laving thus described my invention what a I claim and desire toprotect by Letters Patent i f 1; A, sealing device for eflect'ing a sealbetween a pulley band and a vacuum box having apertures to receive apulley band which consists of anrinflatable member disposed

